How Recovery Advocacy, Live Events, And A Podcast Built A Utah Healing Movement Around The Other Side Of Addiction

Episode Summary

On this episode of Utah Business Spotlight, host Peter Anthony sits down with Al Richards — recovery advocate, podcaster, and co-founder of the Healing Utah Success Summit — for an honest conversation about cocaine, alcohol, shame, hiding, and what actually moves a man from addiction into healing. Al Richards opens with the moment that changed everything — eight years of weekend cocaine and drinking ended by a single dirty UA, the loss of a 24-year manufacturing career, and the first clean look at who Al Richards had really become.

Al Richards tells Peter Anthony the structural Utah operator truth most people avoid — change does not start with action, it starts with a decision. Al Richards made the decision in 2009 to become a better father, partner, friend, and operator with integrity. Al Richards walks Peter Anthony through the first concrete step — getting back into fitness, dropping the weight, clearing the head, and watching the right people arrive in Al Richards' life one chess piece at a time.

Peter Anthony shares Peter Anthony's own structural turn — DJing the biggest nightclubs in New York City, famous handlers walking in piles of cocaine, and Peter Anthony's grandmother saying God has a bigger plan. Peter Anthony stopped doing drugs at 21 and never went back. Al Richards and Peter Anthony connect on the structural Utah operator pattern — the people at the top set the permission for the entire room. When the leader uses, the room uses. When the leader stops, the room is forced to confront itself.

Al Richards unpacks the hiding for Peter Anthony — eight plus years of cocaine use kept secret from a wife, from coworkers, from family. The lying and the manipulation that addiction requires. Al Richards names the structural rule for Utah men — addiction is not the disease, addiction is the band-aid. The wound is deeper, usually formed around age 11 to 13, and the culture taught the boy to hold it in or get something to cry about. Al Richards tells Peter Anthony the real strength shows up the moment a man stops numbing and learns to sit in the emotion instead.

Al Richards walks Peter Anthony through the Native American buffalo metaphor that anchors the work. The lead buffalo turns the herd into the storm because walking through it is faster than running from it. Addiction is running from the storm. Healing is turning into it. Al Richards closes with the three steps for any operator in crisis right now — reach out (Mr.AlRichards@gmail.com), connect to a higher power, and find community, because the opposite of addiction is connection. Utah Business Spotlight is produced by INCubator Marketing Agency and filmed in Sandy, Utah.

Key Moments

00:00 Losing The Job That Changed Everything · 02:01 The Decision To Become Someone New · 03:06 How The Other Side of Addiction Began · 03:50 Building The Healing Utah Success Summit · 04:27 Peter Anthony On Nightlife, Cocaine, And A Hard Stop · 06:03 The Cost Of Hiding Addiction In Plain Sight · 06:57 Why Change Starts With One Real Decision · 08:00 Fitness, Clarity, And The First Way Forward · 09:12 Addiction, Marriage, And The Lies People Justify · 10:21 Why Sharing The Story Changes Everything · 15:14 Men, Shame, And The Fear Of Looking Weak · 17:27 Sitting In Emotion Instead Of Numbing It

Notable Quotes

"I lost my job in 2009 due to a dirty UA — and that was actually the best thing that ever happened to me, because I really found out who Al Richards was." — Al Richards

"The journey of a thousand miles doesn't start with the first step. It starts with the decision to make the second step." — Al Richards

"Addiction isn't the disease. It's the band-aid. People are suffering from something much deeper inside them." — Al Richards

"When we're willing to sit in our emotions instead of reaching for the substance — that's where the real strength is at." — Al Richards

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Al Richards?

Al Richards is a Utah recovery advocate, speaker, and podcaster, host of The Other Side of Addiction (AR The Other Side of Addiction on Facebook, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube) and co-founder of the Healing Utah Success Summit with Mallerie Jacobs. Al Richards spent 24 years in manufacturing before losing a job in 2009 to a dirty UA after eight years of hidden weekend cocaine use, and built the recovery work that followed.

What is The Other Side of Addiction?

The Other Side of Addiction is the podcast Al Richards launched almost five years ago to interview people who have battled addiction and rebuilt their lives. Al Richards has recorded 367 episodes and uses the show as a platform to normalize vulnerability, give other operators permission to share their stories, and connect listeners to recovery resources across Utah.

What is the Healing Utah Success Summit?

The Healing Utah Success Summit is the live event series Al Richards co-founded with Mallerie Jacobs to inspire, educate, and connect people on the recovery journey. Al Richards and Mallerie Jacobs held the 50th event on October 4, with speakers sharing stories of addiction, healing, and hope. Learn more at healingutahsuccesssummit.com.

How does Al Richards say recovery actually starts?

Al Richards tells Peter Anthony recovery starts with one real decision — not the first step, the decision to take the second step. Al Richards built sobriety on a single decision to become a better father, partner, and operator, then anchored it with fitness, the right community, and a willingness to sit in emotion instead of numbing it.

What does Al Richards mean by sitting in emotion?

Al Richards tells Peter Anthony men were taught to hold emotion in — pull up your big boy pants, do not cry. Al Richards names addiction as the band-aid for emotion the man refuses to feel. Sitting in emotion — without reaching for drugs, alcohol, porn, gambling, food, or work — is where the real strength lives and where the need to numb finally drops.

What is the buffalo metaphor Al Richards uses?

Al Richards uses the Native American buffalo story — the lead buffalo turns the herd into the storm because walking through the storm gets the herd to the other side faster than running from it. Al Richards tells Peter Anthony addiction is running from the storm, which is why the storm chases the operator forever. Healing is turning into it.

How do I reach Al Richards for help?

Al Richards tells Peter Anthony anyone struggling with addiction or thinking about suicide should email Al Richards at Mr.AlRichards@gmail.com to set up a phone conversation. Al Richards also points to two non-negotiables — connect with a higher power and find community, because the opposite of addiction is connection.

About INCubator Marketing Agency

INCubator Marketing Agency is Utah's first AI-integrated marketing infrastructure team, headquartered in Sandy, Utah and serving small businesses, founders, and operators across Utah County, Salt Lake County, and the wider Wasatch Front.

Every engagement is built around the INCubator Method: seven core marketing systems — authority web design, local SEO, CRM and pipeline, marketing automation, AI voice receptionists, video content, and conversion-focused funnels — installed together as one accountable infrastructure so every dollar compounds month over month.

The agency was founded by Peter Anthony Wynn (Founder & Marketing Strategist) with Marc Olsen (Partner & Automation Expert) and Chelsie Wynn. INCubator operates Utah Business Spotlight, a long-form Utah small business podcast filmed at Bad Bet Productions in Sandy, Utah, and hosts Tuesday Night at the INCubator — a weekly marketing training and networking event for Utah business owners.

Contact: team@incubatormarketingagency.com · +1 385-386-6988 · Office hours Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM Mountain Time.